GX: Parallel Journey
by Sir Deady
Summary: As the adventure begins for the students of Duel Academy, elsewhere, a new journey unfolds for a different set of aspiring duelists. AU
1. A New Journey Dawns

(Feel free to skip this, just a little explanation)

Hello to all in Fanficland, and thanks for giving this little fic a try. Although I am about 4 years late, I recently got back into Yu-Gi-Oh and in particular, GX. This story came about watching season 3 and hearing about Duel Academy's "Worldwide Branches". Needless to say, it got my overactive mind whirring. As stated in the summary this is a story based in an alternative universe, I apologize if you prefer your fanfic tea with a nice dose of current timeline but needless to say, I going to use that as a bit of a jump rope through the course of this. Before we get going here's a little information. This is set at the same time as GX, from the very beginning, so depending on how this plays out, this may be a bit long. Also, all the characters for the first few chapters will be OCs but Yu-gi-oh and GX characters will have a heavy role in this story, as it should be. Feel free to review with any questions, comments, or concerns but I hope you will enjoy it all in all. And now, let's begin GX: Parallel Journey

Ch 1

A New Journey Dawns

The morning air blew through Vision City, steady, crisp, and mellow reflecting the end of summer and beginning of autumn. The city may have been young, as reflected by the skyscrapers almost futuristic designs and numerous large cranes littered about the miles of land testified, but the monumental population and the differing ages of the citizens in the central park alone showed that new or not, many found peace an joy in the young city.

In the middle of said park, on a white bench with swirling arm rests sat a young, fidgeting girl. She looked around anxiously, her long, silver hair bobbing back and forth as she switched between looking at her cell phone and the walking path in front of her. Her teal eyes darted around, searching for something, actually someone.

"_Where is she?"_ she wondered, _"If we wait any longer we are going to be late for the entrance exams!" _she swung her legs nervously, a habit she's had since she was a little child...Well a child, she was still technically 'little',_"I knew I should have been the one to pick her up, she's never on time! You would think that she would at least take today seriously! After all, today is the day we test to get into-"_

"Pardon me." her frantic thoughts were interrupted by a low, smooth voice. She had to look up to make sure she was being spoken to, the voice was surprisingly calming, despite her current state of affairs. Sure enough, a strange boy stood by the bench, he was dressed in a black jacket, royal purple shirt and black slacks. She blinked, taking a moment to register his garb

"_That's a pretty shirt." _she mused, _"But the rest of that has to be rather uncomfortable, it's still summer..."_

"I beg your pardon, but could I ask you a question?" She snapped out of her stupor, and looked up to see the source of the question. She was greeted by a boy with silver eyes, striking by themselves but made more so being contrasted with snowy white hair that fell to just above his shoulders. Around his neck hung a necklace, It appeared to be a sun but colored jet black.

"_That's weird..."_

"I was wondering if you know where the entrance exams are being held today." she snapped back into reality, and blinked at him and he returned the gesture, "...I apologize, I thought you may know seeing as you have a duel disk..." he said pointing to the device, "...But it appears that I'm just wasting your time, I suppose that I will-"

"No!" she stopped him, he raised his eyebrows in surprise, "No, I mean...Yes, I do know where they are. I'm sorry, I'm just a little flustered, I am actually waiting on a friend so we can go there together,"

"Oh, wonderful then." he said, despite the nice remark his face remained relatively stoic, "Could you please tell me the direction? I didn't call in before hand so I have to sign in before I can take the exam." he ran a hand through his hair sheepishly, "Actually, if you're going there as well, I would be happy to accompany you." She blinked at his offer, he was really polite even if his body language didn't show it.

"Thank you, but I, uh, actually promised my friend to wait for her here." she replied lowering her heard

"_If she ever gets here..."_

"Very well then, could you at least point me in the direction of the exam hall? I'm new to the city so I'm a bit lost." he explained, she nodded.

"Sure, it actually just a bit further downtown." she pointed to the west, "It's in an area that's called 'The Circle' all the past exams have been there."

"My thanks." he stated, reaching down to pick up an object wrapped in a dark cloth. He slung it over his shoulder, "I hope to see you again when you get there." he walked off towards to park gate, "Have a good day until then."

"Okay, I'll see you there!" she called back, then something struck her, "Wait! What's your..." however, he was past the gate and crossing traffic, to far to hear her, "...name?"

* * *

Time rolled on, the girl sighed checking her watch "I will try calling her one more time, and then I am going to have to go without her..."

"Luna!" she looked up to see a girl running towards her. The girl was waving happily, dressed in blue skirt, blouse, and white shirt, her brunette hair flowing in the wind behind her.

"Hello, Roxy!" she stood up waving back. The brunette slowed down as she reached her friend and then rested on her knees, breathing and exhaling deeply.

"Sorry...for being...so late..." she stammered between breaths, "But...I had to...go back and...get my...duel disk!" she finished standing up and putting her hands above her head.

"Um, you know they provide duel disks at the exam right?" Luna inquired, Roxy nearly fell to the ground.

"Really? I'm this late for nothing?" she exclaimed shaking her head, "Ergh!...Fine! Whatever, let's just get going, or we're going to be late." she sighed and began walking away, beckoning for her friend to follow, "Besides, we wanna get there in time to see if that guy everyone is talking about will show."

"Who?" Luna asked, clearly oblivious. Roxy blinked at her friend, "You seriously don't know? remember at the end of the school year? There was a rumor that the kid of the 'Game Master' was going to try and enroll at our academy!"

"Game Master? You mean the King of Games?" Luna asked puzzled, she thought that the King of Games was to young to have a kid, especially one old enough to test to get into their academy. Roxy shook her head,

"No, you see there was this guy who was some sort of prodigy when he was a kid. He became a world champion at all sorts of different games, from simple board games to chess and the like." she explained, "And he did it all before he was even fifteen, then Duel Monsters came out and he became one of the earliest champions of the game, you know, in the days before holograms and duel disks." Luna looked at her friend incredulously,

"He sounds amazing, but I've never heard of him before..."

"Doesn't surprise me, after all, when Yugi and Kaiba came along they pretty much rocked the whole Duel Monsters world, but more importantly, this Game Master retired by that time." they reached the exit, crossing the street, "You see, he had a son, though no one knows by who, and that's the kid everyone is talking about."

"Oh..." Luna murmured,

"After hearing that all you can say is 'Oh'?" Roxy looked at her friend half-annoyed, "Well, you should hear what else they're saying about this kid."

"What's that?"

"They say that he's just as good as his Dad, and apparently he has some sort of super secret deck that his father won in a tournament that predated Duelist Kingdom."

"His father just let him have it?"

"Who knows?" Roxy shrugged, "But I hear...that he actually inherited the deck from his father's will."

"His father died?" Luna gasped, now engrossed by Roxy's tale, "That's...horrible."

"Actually..." Roxy began, clicking a street crossing switch, "He didn't 'die', at least, it's not known."

"What do you mean?"

"A few years ago, the manor that the they lived in caught fire, everything was all but burned to the ground. They boy survived, but when they went searching for the body of the Game Master, they couldn't find anything. Most just assumed he died in the blaze, but the boy swore that his father wasn't caught in the fire, in fact..." she turned to Luna raising her arms and making claws with her hands, "...He said his father was taken...by a monster!" Luna's eyes widened, Roxy turned back, "Anyway, he apparently decided to go to some boarding school rather than be adopted by his relatives. He graduated from there last year and the rumor is he decided to test here."

Luna's mind swirled, taking in all that was said and letting her mind wander, _"I wonder if...any of that is true."_ she closed her eyes, _"If so, then this kid may be great duelist, but he's a great duelist without a father..." _something caught her eye, Luna looked up to a tree who's leaves had paled to a light yellow, autumn was close signaling the end of the bright, happy days of summer. Luna looked around, "Hey, this isn't downtown." she looked to Roxy who was arching her eyebrow, puzzled.

"You're just now noticing that?"

"Roxy! We're already late! We gotta get to the Exam Hall!"

"I know, it's over there." Roxy pointed to a giant dome in the distance, it's colors radiated and the glass shimmering in the light of the sun.

"Vision Arena?"

"Yeah, didn't you know that they changed the exam hall destination this year because there was a surplus of applications this year?"

"They...did?" something crossed Luna's mind, a dark figure with silver eyes, _"Then that means...the boy from before..."_

* * *

"Nothing seems to be going well for me today." a low voice muttered, holding on to a trolly pole as the car bumped to and fro, "Getting all the way to that exam hall just to find out that they changed it this year only...wonderful."

"Excuse me." the stranger looked down to see the curious face of a small child pulling on his jacket.

"Yes?"

"Are you a duelist?" he asked, pointing to the deck box barely visible underneath the rim of his jacket.

"As long as the definition hasn't changed recently."

"COOL!" the small boy's curious stare changed to one of amazement, "I'm gonna be one to when I grow up! I've been training really hard too!" the dark haired boy gave the child an amused look.

"That's good, I'm glad you've found something that you love so early."

"Oh, you bet!" reaching into his pockets and bringing out a deck, "I just finished my deck yesterday, I'm actually going to go meet my friends at the school and duel!" however, the enthusiastic outburst was followed by a depressed stupor, "I just wish I had a duel disk like my friends do..."

"Why don't you?" the stranger asked, "Kaibacorp offers a couple of pretty affordable models, I'm sure if you saved up..."

"No it's not that...My parents don't think I'm ready for one, they're worried that the holograms will scare me." he said with a small sniffle, "But I know I'm ready! I just with I could show them, and my friends that I'm not just a scaredy cat anymore!"

The stranger chuckled, this kid was amusing, but he had heart. He reached down and picked up his pack, unwrapping it. "I'll tell you what, why don't you show them with this?" he said handing him a white and blue duel disk.

The kid's eyes widened, "Seriously?"

"Just promise me that you won't be scared, that you will show all those that don't believe in you that you can conquer you fears." the stranger offered the boy the duel disk.

"Of course, you bet!" the boy nodded furiously taking the machine, "But...wait, what about you? Don't you need a duel disk?"

"Don't worry about me..." bringing out a sharp edged, black and silver machine from his pack. He let the dark cloth that was previously wrapped around it fall to the floor, "...I'll be fine." he looked outside the trolly, a large dome loomed in the distance, "Well, there it is."

"Huh?" the boy looked out, "Vision Arena? That's where those duel exams are being held." he smiled, "One day I hope I can duel in there." the stranger looked at him,

"You know, I said something like that when I was your age." he let go of the pole, and walked to the edge of the trolly's exit door. He placed the duel disk onto his arm, locking the bracer in place, "I'm afraid this is my stop." The boy looked at him like he was crazy,

"Nuh uh, the next stop is at the school." the stranger slid open the door and looked back at the boy.

"Not for me." he said, and leaped from the trolly.

* * *

The new exam destination was the Vision Stadium, to some it seemed to be overkill, but on the inside it seemed like no other place could be a better destination. The field was separated into 20 different sections, the faculty hoped that this would make the process speedy and efficient, and it had, but not as planned.

"We have quite a few hopefuls this year." Overseer Mia mused looking at the large crowed in the stands opposite her, "It's been a long morning, but eventful, I'm excited." she said smiling.

"I'm more concerned with the quality of the hopefuls rather than the quantity." Professor Sasha muttered, his arms folded and a half burned through cigarette held between his index and middle fingers, "I cannot say I have been to impressed with the overall abilities of the students I've seen so far."

"You taking this to seriously Sasha." Mia pouted, "We're not here to judge them, we're here to challenge them, these are the next great duelists! Isn't it exciting?"

"Your optimism is almost suffocating, Overseer Mia." Sasha grumbled, taking a drag from his cigarette and adjusting his shades, "I will say that we at least have a clear leader for the new years." he said pointing across the stadium, "Lyserg Leveque, not only did he have the highest marks in the written and practical tests, but I saw his dueling and it's superb."

"Well, that is true..." Mia replied, crossing her arms and staring at the boy Sasha was referring to, "...But I also saw that his dueling was destructive, not only that, but he seemed to be a bit full of himself."

* * *

"_More than a couple hundred peons with hopeful dreams and naïve wonder. To bad it's all for not." _a cocky smirk worked it's way across his face, his eyes hidden behind long, dark bangs, "Whether you make it or not, all of you are nothing compared to me, the great Lyserg." he closed his eyes and shook his head, "No, the great _Machina_!" he chuckled and looked back to the field, at the latest testers, his eyes focusing on a girl with silver hair. "Hmm, unless I'm mistaken, and I never am, that is Luna Molyneux." he leaned back, stretching his arms across the empty chairs on either side of him, "The little sister of His Infernal Majesty." he watched as the duel proctor's Cybernetic Fiend destroyed some fairy monster on her field, "Well, you certainly wouldn't know it by her dueling." his eyes widened as Cybernetic Fiend began to glow and dissolve to dust, then a trap was activated on Luna's field, a white-cloaked figure holding a staff appeared and attacked, depleting the proctor's lifepoints, "...Interesting." he leaned back, staring at the ceiling, "Perhaps she may not be so disposable after all." he chuckled, "However, she should get comfortable staying in her brother's shadow...and mine." he looked around, the stands were becoming full, the tests were almost done. His eyes darted, teeth grinding, he was getting impatient, "I had better not be staying in this rat hole for no reason." his arms remained outstretched, he began rapidly taping his fingers on the hard material on the back of the chair, "Come on out, son of the Game Master..." he looked to the arena floor as the last tests began, "...I want to know if you'll be worth my time."

* * *

"Ello' der Roxy." a voice called out in a think Island accent, "How ya been?"

"Hey Deval!" Roxy waved walking up to her friend, "Have you already dueled?"

"Absolutely." he nodded, dreads bobbing back and forth, "Pity ya missed it, it was certainly a sight to see"

"Yeah, sorry, I ran a bit late." Roxy apologized, rubbing the back of her head.

"I would wait for you as long as need be my dove." a smooth voice replied, as the owner embraced the girl from behind. Roxy continued to smile but gritted her teeth.

"Sephir, what's my policy on you touching me?" she asked happily, balling up her fists, "Don't do it." and in one swift motion bashed the boy behind her. He tumbled to the floor, shades falling off as he was painfully stopped by the railings

"OW! Hey! No need to be so rough!" Sephir whined as he picked up his shades and placed them back on his face, "Unless that's just what you like..."

"The only thing I 'like' right now is the image of your face black and blue." she said, her previously happy demeanor now replaced by the face of someone pretty pissed.

"Ello' Luna, good job durin' ya duelin'!" Deval called out to the girl as she climbed the steps. She was greeted to the image of the happy islander and Roxy holding Sephir in a headlock.

"Thank you Deval, I hope I did well enough to get in with you guys." she said walking up to them, "But it's pretty hard to start in the Baron class."

"Don't worry about it Luna." Roxy huffed as she tightened her grip on Sephir, "I mean if lover-boy here can get in you shouldn't have a problem."

"THaT's...RIghT!" Sephir choked out between his struggles, "BEsiDes! SinCE you ArE...WOULD YOU PLEASE LET ME GO?" Roxy gave up her grip as Sephir slumped to the floor, gasping for breath, "Besides...considering who your...brother is...that has...to be helpful..." he added, gasping.

"Yeah...I suppose..." Luna whispered, voice hushed with melancholy, she looked out to the duel arena, "By the way, have any of you seen a white-haired boy with silver eyes duel yet?" the group looked at her.

"Can't sey I have." Deval shrugged.

"Me either." Roxy concurred.

"Why do you ask little Luna? Boyfriend?" Sephir nudged, as Roxy loomed over him.

"No, No! It's not that it's..." she drifted off looking at the field, "I kind of gave him the wrong directions earlier...and I don't want him to be disqualified because of me."

"Ah, makes since." Deval nodded, "But cha betta hope he gets here soon, I tink de tests are almost ova."

"What!"

* * *

The stranger hurried into the arena, he was already late to begin, but now he was in danger of being disqualified. His only hope, according to the sign-in clerk, was to go and find an overseer and see if they will schedule a quick match. A part of him wanted to blame the girl in the park for giving him the wrong directions, but he knew better, if he had put any forethought into this he would have brought a map and looked up the directions earlier.

"_Oh well, I guess I get to be captain hindsight for a day"_ he thought rushing through the double doors that led into the stands. _"Late enough to almost be disqualified for dueling exams, I bet there is no __other kid that's in this predicament..." _he looked around at the stands, he was surrounded by other applicants, "Damn..." he cursed looking for the overseers, he looked across the arena and spotted several adults across the way, "That's probably them..." he ran down the circular path to the other side of the arena.

"Well he's sure in a hurry." Sephir motioned below, "He is pretty late though, I would be to."

"Hey Luna, is that him?" Roxy asked, noting the boy's dark hair and silver eyes, "Not bad..." Luna looked over the side of the railing, her eyes widening.

"It is!" she exclaimed, she looked over to where he was headed, "I'll be right back!" she shouted as she ran off.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Roxy called after her.

"Well that seems to be about it." Mia muttered as she checked the attendance list, "All the sign-ins have been tested, guess we should get around to starting the closing announcements."

"Appears so, a pity really" Sasha muttered, lighting up a new cigarette, "I was hoping that child would come." he said pointing to a name on the list.

"Whoa! He was going to come to our school? I guess he must have found a better one if he's not here." she huffed, "I guess it really is a pity, it would have been great for our school to have someone like that..." Sasha nodded picking up the list and looking at the name, _"The child of the Game Master, Ciel Noir."_

"Pardon me!" A ragged voice called out, the Overseer's turned and saw a white haired boy walking up to them, "I apologize for being so late, however, I was told that I may still be able to test if I spoke with you." he said, despite the frantic explanation he delivered it with an unearthly calm.

"Yeah you are a little late, but you caught us just in-" Mia was cut off a Sasha held up his hand, he adjusted his shades and looked at the boy.

"Running late is not a good first impression." he replied stoically, "May I have a reason why we should allow you this chance?"

"It's not my habit to show up late, however-"

"Professor Sasha!" all parties turned to look up at the girl almost leaping down the steps, "Professor Sasha, please allow him to test, it's my fault he's late." Sasha raised an eyebrow,

"Is that so?"

"I thank you for the assistance, but to say it's your fault is your only fault." the boy replied, shaking his head, "I could have just as easily figured it out myself if I had thought to do it."

"But I was then one that sent you downtown, your late because you went there first!" she exclaimed, the boy simply shrugged.

"...I suppose..." the boy and girl looked at the cancer-stick smoking man, "...Under the circumstances I will allow it." he crossed his arms and looked at the boy, "However, you shall be dueling me."

"Sasha!" Mia sputtered, looking at the shaded overseer in disbelief, "I don't think that's normally protocol for these things."

"That's the ultimatum, besides we do not base entrance on winning. We base it on ability, tactics, and how well they handle what ever situations applicant's are handed. This is simply one of those situations." he flipped the bangs of his hair, "What do you say?" Mia once again looked to her fellow overseer. Shaking her head is exasperation, she sighed and turned to the boy,

"I guess it's up to you." she folded her arms as she addressed the boy "Do you want to take on the challenge?" the boy, closed his eyes for a moment, his brow furrowed in thought, he looked to the female overseer and nodded,

"Of course, after all it seems fitting." the boy agreed. Sasha looked back to the other overseers, they nodded in acknowledgment and left the stands to prepare. He looked back at the boy, taking in one last drag,

"I shall meet you on the field, do hurry this time." Sasha turned and walked away, picking up a deck on the overseer's table on his way past Mia and the arena floor. Luna looked anxiously at the boy.

"I'm sorry, this is my fault."

"Like I said before, don't blame yourself." the boy looked to her, "Don't worry about me, I've certainly been though worse." he began to walk to the arena entrance, "...I do thank you though..." Luna looked at him, "...For your help, I hope to see you again." he walked away, opening the container strapped to his waist and sliding a deck of duel monsters cards out of it. Luna watched him go.

"Good luck!" she called to him, he stopped momentarily and raised his hand in acknowledgment and continued on.

* * *

"Attention all applicants!" Mia's voice rang through the arena's speakers, "I just wanted to congratulate all of you on terrific duels and to say thank you for being so patient! Also, I should mention that every single applicant here passed!" a loud cheer sounded from the east side of the arena, Mia smiled, "Before we start closing announcements, we have one last duel to get through!" the cheers have been replaced by whispers of curiosity and, in some cases, annoyance. "So please give the duelists your full attention and be a great audience and let them get their game on!" cheers again and excited chattering as most students looked to the field to see these last duelists.

"Well here weh go." Deval stated as he took his seat.

"This should be good, I mean it's Professor Sasha! He was a champion before he became a teacher here wasn't he?" Sephir stretched his arms above his head and then folded them behind his neck, "Your boyfriend had better be pretty good little Luna." Luna blushed slightly before looking to the field.

"_I hope so to."_

* * *

Sasha watched as the tardy applicant entered the field and walked to their section, "You are certainly making up for your initial impression, I'm impressed that you decided accept this." the boy looked at him.

"I've made my decision to go to this school, so I will certainly not back down to from any obstacle in my way." his eyes narrowed, "That includes you professor." Sasha shifted in unease.

"_His entire demeanor changed."_ he pondered, _"He's certainly going to take this seriously...good."_

Sasha activated his duel disk, it's black and maroon casing shimmered under the arena lights, "Before we begin, would you please tell us your name?" The boy looked up, his duel disk activating on his hanging left arm. He raised it to chest level and looked at the overseer.

"Ciel Noir."


	2. Dream Vs Reality

GX: Parallel Journey

Ch 2

Dreams Vs. Reality

A few gasps rang through the crowd, and hushed conversations began, all due to two spoken words, some names just have that ability. In the midst of all this a low chuckle could be heard. Lyserg leaned forward, his interest peaked, "So, you finally showed." his focus now pinpointed to the white haired boy opposite the school's professor, "Let's see if you deserve all the hysteria surrounding you. More importantly, let's see if you deserve my attention."

"So that's him!" Roxy shouted, slack-jawed she turned to the silver-haired girl next to her, "Luna, why didn't you tell us?" Luna turned to her friend, her face showed just as much surprise,

"I-I did not know who he was Roxy." she turned back to the arena, "I never had the chance to ask his name, but even if I had, I wouldn't have known who he was."

"You certainly attract the strange ones Luna." Sephir said leaning over the railings, "But now I'm really pumped! One of this school's best dueling professors and the son of the Game Master, place your bets!"

"Agreed" Deval nodded, "Dis should be one interestin' match-up. I jus' hope we get to see a lot of dis' supa secret deck of his."

"Oh yeah..." Roxy turned to look at the boy in question, "I wonder what it could be, I mean it's apparently one-of-a-kind. It's said that Pegasus was going to make them a full-fledged part of the first collection of cards, but after they were created he decided against it."

"Why's that?" Sephir turned his head to the brunette, "Were they too powerful or something?"

"Nah, dey were just to 'special'." Deval explained, "I heard dat Pegasus gave em' to de Game Master for safe keepin'."

"I heard he won them in a tournament." Roxy countered, the islander shrugged,

"Either way, dis kid has em', and we're about ta see jus' what dey are."

* * *

Professor Sasha was honestly caught by surprise, a rare occurrence, but he certainly didn't mind at the moment. He looked at the now named student in front of him, taking in the appearance of the long rumored child, "I must admit, you don't look like what I expected." he stated, the boy just looked on, "However, appearances aside, I would like to know why someone of your lineage decided to come here, out of all the possibilities in the dueling world." at first, the boy gave no response, then he shrugged and looked to the professor.

"I could ask you the same question, after all you were a professional, what made you give up a life on the circuit for a desk job?" the professor pushed up his sunglasses, Ciel continued, "Speaking of which, will I be having the pleasure of dueling against your famous deck? If so, this duel will just be that much more exciting for me." he smirked, "Not to mention it will make the victory that much more enjoyable as well." The professor had to laugh, the boy certainly had confidence, but whether it was born of true courage or of simple foolishness had yet to be seen.

"I admire your tenacity, however the deck I will be using shall not be the deck I used at the end of my career." he placed his deck into the duel disk, "But, I wish you luck just the same, this deck shall be more than sufficient I'm sure."

"I should hope so." Ciel placed his own deck into his duel disk, "Otherwise, there would be no point in using mine." he stared down the professor-turned-opponent in front of him, placing his right hand on top of it, the professor returned this gesture.

"Shall we begin?" he asked calmly.

"Let this duel commence!" Ciel shouted drawing five cards into his hand in one motion, Sasha did the same, then drew one extra card.

"I shall start." he looked into his hand, "I begin by playing this, 'Pyrokinetic Soldier'!" appearing before the professor was a machine-like entity, one hand a dark red claw, the other in the form of a cannon, from it's head spewed a small pillar of fire (Atk: 1400 / Def: 1100), "I then set a card, your move, Ciel." he looked up, a sense of anticipation coursed through him, _"Let's see these infamous cards of yours." _

"Psychic monsters? This kid has his work cut out for him." Sephir mused, "Now let's see what he's got."

Ciel stared at the infernal machine before him, a small smirk appeared on his face, "Draw!" he added 1 card to his hand and looked down, "Very well, I begin." the crowd became still, focusing on Ciel's first move. "I begin by activated the spell card 'Dream Scepter!'" a card appeared, showing a picture of, appropriately enough, a scepter, with a swirling pattern of midnight blue and the top of the staff was anointed with what looked like a jet-black sun.

"_That's the same sun that's on his necklace."_ Luna thought, staring at the card.

"Playing a spell card right out the gate?" Roxy pondered, "Wonder what it does."

"Your going to play a spell card with no monster?" Sasha asked, "That doesn't seem like an effective strategy."

"You would be wrong." Ciel countered, "This card doesn't need a monster to be effective, because it creates one!" suddenly, a dark mist poured from the card and swirled in the air, then a silhouette could be seen among the mist. The mist evaporated, and now standing in it's place was a hooded and cloaked being, adorned in purple and and the same blue color as the scepter it now holds. "My 'Dream Scepter' creates a 'Dream Mystic' token, and it will more than make do for any monster I could otherwise have."

he explained, presenting the ethereal being (Atk: 1500 / Def: 1200), "Allow me to demonstrate! Go Dream Mystic, attack his soldier!" the monster complied, pointing his scepter at the fiery being. A purple light flooded from the scepter that pierced Pyrokinetic Soldier, destroying him (Sasha: 3900) The professor barely flinched, "I then set two cards face-down and end my turn."

"Using spell cards to create monsters, creative, however..." Sasha ripped a card out of his deck, "Creativity alone will not help you win a duel." he pressed a switch on his duel disk, "I activate my trap card, 'Psychic Image'" the card flipped up, "This card allows me to summon a token of my own, created in the image of one of my psychic monsters in the graveyard." Pyrokinetic Soldier reappeared, however, his attack and defense points read 0, "Before you ask, this token has no attack points simply because it's not meant to attack, it's meant to be fodder." the image shattered and then the pieces reformed into a new being, "Behold, my Pyrotrancer (Atk: 2000 / Def: 1600)!" Now in the place of Pyrokinetic Soldier stood a new metallic being, dressed in crimson robes and with a face that looked like the front of a furnace with flames pouring out.

"You expected me to beat your monster." Ciel muttered, Sasha nodded,

"Of course, I would hope that you could have managed a feat as simple as that." he stood erect, "I should also tell you about the effects of my two monsters, first off Pyrotrancer gains 400 attack points for each Pyro-attribute Psychic monster in my graveyard." Pyrotrancer's attack points shot up (Atk: 2400), "Also, when Pyrokinetic Soldier is destroyed in battle, I'm allowed to add another from my deck..." Sasha removed his deck from his duel disk and looked through it, picking out a card, "...and add it to my hand." he shuffled his deck and then placed it back into it's slot, "Now, I activate the spell card Pyrokinesis Burst!" he placed the card into the spell/trap card slot and activated it, "To play this card I must first send 1 Pyro-attribute Psychic monster to the graveyard, like my new Pyrokinetic Soldier." he placed the card into the graveyard slot, "Then I can choose one monster on your field and then destroy it!" flames erupted violently around Dream Mystic.

"I don't think so." Ciel interrupted, the flames that were raging just moments before suddenly died out and Dream Mystic wasn't so much as singed.

"What is this? You monster should have been destroyed by my spell!"

"My monster wasn't destroyed because it was a spell. My Dream Mystic is not affected by any opponent spell cards." Ciel explained, Sasha huffed, adjusting his glasses.

"Most impressive, however it's all for not. I still have Pyrotrancer!" the blazing monstrosity let out a low, metallic growl, flames spewing forth from it's mouth. "Since I just sent another Pyrokinetic Soldier, he gains a further 400 attack points!" Pyrotrancer (Atk: 2800) balled it's fists, the flames in it's head were sent into a frenzy, "Now attack! Pyrokinesis Inferno!" the flames in it's metallic head poured out into his hands, he reached back and cast them forth, the blaze headed straight for Dream Mystic.

"I activate my trap!" Ciel shouted, "Temporal Curtain!" a dark purple vortex appeared in front of Dream Mystic, the blaze collided into it, disappearing into the magical chasm.

"What happened to my attack?" Sasha asked, looking to the boy, "Where did it go?"

"A couple of things actually, currently, it negates your attack. Then, during my next turn I can redirect the attack back at you during the battle phase." Ciel smiled, "Creative enough?"

"This kid certainly has some impressive cards." Mia remarked, "However, it's going to take more than that to impress Sasha, and much more to beat him."

"Hmm, if I were to make a guess, you're going to use the redirected attack to destroy my Pyrotrancer, and then attack me directly with your monsters." Sasha flipped his bangs, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but that shall not be the case." he took a card from his hand and placed it into his duel disk, "I activate Telekinetic Surge." A card appeared on the field with a picture of a human brain emitting lighting, "With this I choose one level four or below monster in my deck and then send it to my grave." he did so, briefly showing a card with some sort of tall, lanky creature with a blue glow before sending it to the graveyard, "Like my Spirit Clairvoyant, and half of it's attack points go to my Pyrotrancer. So, he gains another 800 attack points!" Pyrotrancer (Atk: 3600) gained the same blue glow as the creature on the card, "Then I set one card, your move."

Ciel drew a card from his deck, he looked at it then to the professor, "Professor, I must say, I was disappointed that you decided not to use that professional deck of yours." he placed the drawn card into his hand, "However, this deck is has been more than challenging, and your dueling ability truly amazes me." the professor tilted his head, an amused smirk formed on his face.

"While I appreciate the compliments, I would certainly suggest you save them for the duel's end. After all, don't think you can simply flatter me into going easy on you."

"I never planned on that." Ciel retorted, "I simply thought I should focus on the things you're doing right, as opposed to your mistakes."

"Mistakes?"

"Yes, like your little head games. You seem to be trying to predict my moves." he removed a card from his hand, "However, my dueling is just like a dream, fantastic and unpredictable. I play another Dream Scepter!" the card appeared, and from it another Dream Mystic, "Then, I play my face-down, look familiar?" a third Dream Scepter appeared, now the field was occupied by three cloaked wizards hovering just above the ground, "You see, I'm only allowed play one 'Dream Heirloom' card per round, unless I set the the previous turn."

"Dream Heirloom?" the professor inquired,

"The archtype of these cards. I do happen to own others, but I only need my Dream Mystics to win this duel." Ciel could help but let the confident statement slip, his plan almost finished.

"Really now? All of your mystics only have 1500 attack points, well below my Pyrotrancer." the professor motioned to the blazing psychic in front of him, "I'm guessing my so-called 'head games' are affecting you more than you wish to believe?"

"Not quite." Ciel drew another card from his hand, "True, you psychic has more power than any one of my mystics, but not together." he placed the card into his duel disk, "I activate the spell card, Dream Wave Blast!" the card appeared on the field, a picture of two Dream Mystics crossing their scepters adorned it. Ciel faced his opponent, "I can only activate this card if I have two or more Dream Mystics on the field. With this I can turn their individual attacks into a combined onslaught!" the three mystics crossed their scepters, a small, purple orb emitted just in front of them. It grew quickly, now a giant sphere, the power of the mystics combining within (Atk: 4500) "It seems that all that focus on your Pyrotrancer was for naught! Say good-bye! Dream Wave Blast!" the orb flew across the field, exploding on impact with Pyrotrancer, who's metallic body shattered amongst the blast. Sasha held up his arms to shield himself from the force of the attack, his lifepoints dropping (Sasha: 3000) .

Ciel held his head high, "Due to this card's effect, none of my mystics can attack during the battle phase this turn. However, you can do that for me, with all 2800 points from your Pyrotrancer!" to his left, the same violet vortex from before opened, unleashing a torrent of flames that were now redirected to the dark-spectacled professor. He braced himself once more as the flames enveloped him (Sasha: 200).

Gasps were heard from the crowd, the excited chattering from before returned fervently. Lyserg was no longer relaxing along the backs of the still empty chairs between him. Now, he was standing, his eyes wide, staring at Ciel in a mixture of shock, confusion, and, if you looked close enough, excitement. He smiled, his lips almost shaking, _"He is living up to the hype..."_ the beginning of laughter could be heard, starting from the depths of his throat, _"Keep it up Ciel, it's good to know that I may be entering this academy with more than these urchins." _the laughter was being stifled at a chuckle, however a few honest laughs did escape him, they were an unnerving, high-pitched sound, "You may even be a worthy opponent...For someone as great as me."

"Man, this kid is good." Sephir was now leaning on the railing, his hands gripping the rails with elation, "He's beaten professor Sasha down to his last 200 lifepoints, without losing a single one himself!" he turned to Luna, who was transfixed on the duel below, "You should have told us how good your little boyfriend was Luna." the girl in question snapped out of her stupor.

"I-I told you I did not know who he was!" she stated, exasperated, Sephir just laughed.

"Come on, you said you meet him earlier. Where was it? Some secret location, hidden from prying eyes? Or better yet, beneath a bridge surrounded by only the sounds of nature and the sounds of you two—GAH!" the ranting was cut off by the loud knocking noise of knuckle meeting skull. Roxy lowered her hand, huffing.

"The joke is old Sephir, and I can't focus with you prattling on." she looked back to the arena, "Though it doesn't look like we'll be watching for much longer, this kid seems to have Sasha beat."

"I wouldn't sey dat." Deval interjected, crossing his arms, "Look at de prof, he doesn't exactly look dat troubled."

"Huh?" Roxy turned her attention to Sasha, "You're right...in fact he looks calm."

"Too calm."" Sephir added, rubbing the back of his head, "He's definitely got something up his sleeve."

Sasha removed a silver container from his pocket, he popped it open and removed a cigarette from within. He removed a lighter from the other pocket and after a few clicks, a small fire lit-up. He placed the tip of the cigarette in the fire and took a few quick puffs, igniting the cig.

"I don't think it's proper etiquette to take a smoke break in the middle of a duel..." Ciel muttered, "For someone who was riding me on manners you certainly don't seem to apply them to yourself."

"I typically smoke after a victory, however I decided to take it a little early." the professor admitted, shrugging as he took another drag.

"I apologize if I find that a little hard to believe..."

"The smoking after a victory?"

"That you're close to victory. You have no monsters and only 200 lifepoints. You must be a very dedicated optimist to see that as winning conditions."

"Now look at who's jumping the gun." the professor adjusted his glasses, "Didn't you just say that predictions are foolish?" the professor asked, "You certainly have much to learn about the human mind, child. However, after seeing your deck, I can't say I blame you for living in a fantasy world."

"We're playing a game of monsters and spells and your lecturing me about living in a fantasy world?" Ciel sighed, the professor certainly decided to give lectures at an odd time. His words would probably mean more if he were winning.

"I see no problem with imagination, it is one of the of the greater powers of the mind. But, it is only good in practical use." the professor took another drag, "Your moves are creative, and you play your cards well, but you have left yourself wide open." he finished by drawing a card from his deck.

"I'm sorry, but I can't say three monsters at my defense is 'wide open'."

"And what if they were to disappear?" the professor asked, dropping the used cigarette and crushing it under his boot, "I activate my trap card, Sacrifice to Life!" the trap card on his field activated, flipping face up, "With this card, I am able to summon a monster from my deck, who's attack points are equal or less than the amount of damage I took to my lifepoints."

Ciel's eyes shot open, "That's 3700..."

"Fortunately for you, I have no monster with such attack points, but I do have this." Sasha took a card from his deck and placed it on his duel disk, "I summon, VORTEX PSYCHIC!"

The field was darkened and a black hole appeared, from it a being drifted out. It was dressed in a long, dark robe, he wore some sort of helmet, it had no eye holes to speak of, but a silver visor that wrapped around the top of the otherwise black mask. On the side's of the helm what look like curved ax blades protruded, the same metallic silver as the visor. The black hole disappeared, and now only the Vortex Psychic (Atk: 3200 Def: 1800) remained, "Certainly impressive isn't he?" Sasha asked, pushing up his shades, "And he's more so when you factor in his effect." Ciel shifted, preparing for the worst, "You see, for each Psychic in my graveyard that was sent there due to a card effect, my monster gains a Vortex counter."

"Wait...You sent two Psychics there due to effects..."

"Yes, and you destroyed my Pyrotrancer with one as well."

"Then that means you had this planned all along!" Ciel shouted, astonished. Sasha looked to the boy, crossing his arms.

"So, what does that say about your opinion on prediction?" he asked, his stoic tone not changing despite the cocky comment, "Now, my Psychic can banish one monster on the field for each counter it has, and now with three, say good-bye to your defense." The Vortex Psychic raised it's right arm, revealing a body made of dark and silver metals. He pointed to the three Dream Mystics on the field and one-by-one, they disappeared in small black holes, leaving the field wide-open. Sasha drew a card from his hand and held up his duel disk, "I will now play this, the field spell 'Cerebral Reality'!" he placed the card inside a new, unfolded slot then the stadium around them disappeared, replaced by a dome of light blue mist.

Ciel looked around in confusion, he looked down an noticed he was standing on a dark floor. Then, markings in white began traveling through it, he didn't notice right away, but then he could make out scientific and mathematical equations, philosophical quotes, and pictures of inventions, theories, and schematics.

"What is this?" he asked, looking at the new surroundings in agitation.

"This is what a mind should be..." Sasha answered, "Clean, clear, and focused, with nothing clouding and rotting it." he flipped the bangs of his hair out of his eyes, "You see, it is said that the mind holds unlimited potential, but even such a broad idea could be seen as an understatement." he shifted, taking a look at the field himself, "So many minds are untamed. Thoughts, ideas, and emotions scattering wildly and slowing it down. No one could ever truly understand the abilities they hold in such a chaotic mess." he pointed to Ciel, "Take yourself for instance! You may be imaginative and cunning, but those same strengths have now led to your downfall. Not taking my trap into consideration, not backing up your own field with any yourself! You were so focused on combinations and trickery that you let basic tactics slide-by without thinking." Sasha shook his head, seemingly depressed, "It's truly a shame, because I can see true potential in you, but if you continue focusing so much of your mental energy on false ideas and dreams instead of reality then you shall never reach it." he shrugged his shoulders in the same faux-depressed manner, "I may have never met the man, but I cannot see you living to be the same person your father was."

Ciel turned to look at the professor, if he was affected by his words, he didn't show it. He closed his eyes, taking in a few silent breaths, "I must say, all my admiration for you, has turned to pity." Sasha looked up, his confusion evident even behind his dark glasses, "This may be the 'perfect' mind, but it is not a living mind, all numbers and theories? With no emotions, feelings, and dreams it is no better than a machine." he opened his eyes and stared down the professor, "And it's true that you never met my father, otherwise you wouldn't believe half the things you said."

Sasha unfolded his arms, he huffed incredulously, "I doubt that the 'Game Master' had a mind preoccupied by frivolous nonsense."

"You would be wrong, and I'll just have to prove it in his place!" Ciel answered, raising his duel disk to his chest again, "Come at me."

"Very well, I'll just have to answer your challenge to prove your failings." Sasha pointed to his monster, "I should explain how this field spell affects my monster. You see, Psychics are beings who have figured out the mysteries of the mind and here, in a place of perfect clarity, not only do they gain 500 attack points but certain monsters even gain new effects. Like him!" Vortex Psychic (Atk: 3700) started to emit an aura the same color as the field around them, "You see, now any monster you Special Summon will be instantly banished by my Vortex Psychic." Sasha changed the direction of his hand from his creature to Ciel, "However, you should worry about the immediate danger at the moment. Vortex Psychic, attack with Telekinetic Void Stream!" the monster pressed it's claws to the sides of his head. A dark beam shot from the center of it's head, piercing straight through Ciel who fell from the shock of the blast (Ciel: 300). "Finally, I remove from play Spirit Clairvoyant from the graveyard. Due to it's effect I gain 800 lifepoints, 400 for each turn it was there." (Sasha: 1000)

The students were now all up on their feet, all their focus on the field. They could barely make out the forms of the duelists in the blue mist, but they could tell that in just one turn, the professor had turned the tables on the mysterious applicant. Lyserg, however, did not share their enthusiasm. He was once again sitting down, arms crossed and an enrage glare darkening his features, _"Was I wrong about you Ciel?"_ even though the question was simply a thought, you could almost sense the venom behind it, _"Don't tell me my interest was misplaced and that you're just another failure." _he balled up his fists and hugged his arms closer to himself, _"Are you just another insect, child of the Game Master?"_

"Man, in just one move Professor Sasha totally reversed the game, now he's the one with more lifepoints and with more monsters on the field while the other kid's is empty." Sephir shook his head, "He's gonna have a hard time getting out of that."

"No kidding." the group of students turned to see a dark haired, hazel-eyed woman walk up to them. She removed her red bomber jacket and placed it on the railings before leaning on it next to them, "That's one of the reasons Sasha was such a great duelist on the circuit, his strategies are nearly flawless, and once he gains the upper hand he almost never let's it go." Overseer Mia bit her bottom lip, "I don't think it's going to end that well for Ciel."

"Der is still hope." Deval said, "As the prof jus' showed, de tables can turn at any time. Dis kid jus' needs to flip the tables on im'"

"But like Ms. Mia was saying it's not that easy." Roxy interjected, shooting an angry glance at Sephir, who was ogling the new onlooker, "Professor Sasha isn't a push over, and he's pretty much countered all of Ciel's moves. Even though it didn't look like it, he's actually been leading this duel the entire time."

"It's not too late!" the group turned to look at Luna, who was staring intently at the match, "I mean..He...He still has a chance." the group looked among each other, puzzled by their friends sudden intensity, Deval shrugged as he leaned against the railing.

"I suppose, I mean, weh 'aven't seen all de secrets of dis deck of 'is." he looked over his shoulder to the blue dome, "Let's jus' hope he knows em'."

Ciel stood up, the attack was a shock, the 'Solid Vision' holograms were surprisingly powerful. He felt an almost crushing pressure when the blast hit, in fact he could have almost sworn it was real. However, it wasn't real, otherwise he would be feeling more than a little shook up. He looked to the two cards in his hand and scowled, he could have made good use of these cards before, but now the field had entirely changed and they wouldn't be enough. He took in a deep breath and looked at his deck, "I have faith in you..." he whispered, placing his hand on the top card, "Let's end this." he drew the card and looked at it, then to Sasha, "I activate, "Death's Hand!" a card appeared on the field, filled with a picture of a Grim Reaper-like being holding a set of cards, "This card requires me to draw until I have five cards." he drew three in one motion, "At the end of the turn, I must discard the same amount of cards I previously had in my hand or I lose 500 lifepoints for each."

"Placing your hopes in a game of chance?" Sasha shook his head, "You didn't learn anything from my lecture did you?"

"Sorry, but our philosophies differ professor, so for now, let's just see which of us is right." he looked down at his new hand, and for the first time, a genuine smile crossed his face, even if it was a bit subdued. "It appears that you are going to be the one learning at the end of this professor."

"It seems that not only our situations reversed but our positions as well. Now I'm the doubtful one." he motioned to his monster, "Can you honestly say that you have something strong enough to defeat my Psychic?"

"Not in my hand, but I'm not going to let such a little issue stop me."

"And how, may I ask, do you plan to overcome that?"

"Allow me to show you." he placed a card on the duel disks monster zone, "I summon, Masque of the Dreamer!" in a flash of light, a mask appeared in the cent of the field. It was colored purple, red, and blue, in an almost tribal like pattern (Atk: 0 / Def: 0). "Next, I activate it's Special effect, by tributing it I can Special Summon my deck's trump card." A purple light surrounded his deck as the mask disappeared. A card towards the middle of his deck jutted out, he took it and placed it in the now vacant spot on his duel disk.

In the same flash of light, a new monster appeared, it was wearing the mask previously on the field, but now there were eyes behind it. The normally white sclera was jet black, and red iris' surrounded the pupils. It was tall, with long arms and legs, it wore a black one-piece body suit that covered it's entire body along with gloves and boots. They were decorated in the same tribal-like design of the mask, and it was literally capped off with what looked like a black wizard's hat, the top swirled inward and the bottom was wrapped in a ragged red cloth. "This is my ace, Majora - The Dreamer (Atk: 2500 / Def: 2000)!"

Sasha looked at the new creature, his stoic mask briefly broke in a quick look of surprise, "An impressive monster to be sure Ciel. Sadly it won't be around for long." he waved his hand around him, "If you remember, due to the effect granted to my monster due to Cerebral Reality, any monster special summoned is instantly banished."

The monster raised it's metallic arms, a black hole was created behind Majora, attempting to draw him in. However, just as it seemed that Majora was going to disappear, he turned around and grabbed the edges of the vortex, pushing it together and eradicating it. Sasha stepped back, astonished, "What is this?" he asked looking to Ciel.

"Majora has an effect of his own, any card effect that target's him specifically is negated. So he's going to be staying here." he explained, as Majora returned to hover in front of him.

Your monster's effect may have saved him from mine, but you will have to do better if you wish to defeat me." he raised his hand, as if it held something to present, "Remember, we are in my domain. This is where the powers of the mind and reality are perfected Your monster will not survive once my round begins."

"You won't be getting another round professor." Ciel stated, he held up his duel disk as a slot at the end of his monster zone opened, "As for your 'perfect' world, I must say that it bores me." he placed a card in the slot as it folded back into the machine, "I play the field spell Phantasia!"

The blue must and dark board disappeared, replaced by a dark sky filled with stars. Their shapes and sizes were exaggerated, almost appearing like stars a child would make out of construction paper. They were standing in a field of violet grass, with trees surrounding them at the edge of the field. They were adorned with glowing leaves of different colors: red, blue, purple, orange and others shimmered among the forest. Ciel looked around at the field, "This is better, or at least more lively." he mused, turning back to his opponent, "However, this field isn't just for show, it comes with a couple of nice perks itself." he looked over to Majora, who was now encased in a violet glow, "But let's focus on the important one, Majora – the Dreamer gains 500 attack and defense points." Majora (Atk: 3000 / Def: 2500) stood upright as the purple glow warped around him and now almost had the appearance of fire.

Sasha looked at the surreal images around him, "This is..." he looked from the stars to the shimmer trees, "...oddly..." he noticed the violet grass below him, tilting his head as he inspected it, "...enchanting." he looked up to Ciel, "However, despite a change of scenery and a few more points for your monster, it does not change your predicament. My Vortex Psychic still has more attack points." the monster raised it's metallic claws, almost in acknowledgment.

Ciel shook his head, "Professor, you advised me to think more, but you made the mistake of believing that I was not thinking before." he removed a card from his hand and placed it into a spell/trap card slot, "I activate Dream Shatter!" the card appeared on the field, showing an image of a starry night sky cracking like a dropped mirror. "With this card, your monster loses those precious attack points of his. 400 for every Dream Heirloom in my graveyard!" the card began to glow the same color as the grass below them.

"It does nothing, my monster banished those monsters!" Sasha interjected, speaking as if he was pointing out an obvious fact.

Ciel waived his finger in a 'tsk-tsk' motion, "Vortex Psychic banished the monster tokens that they summon. The Dream Heirloom cards..." he raised his duel disk for emphasis, "...Are still right here." Then, three violet rays shot from the spell card on the field, attaching to Vortex Psychic, "And with you Cerebral Reality gone, he already went back to his original attack points of 3200, so with three heirlooms in my graveyard he loses another 1200 attack points."

"Which means his current attack points are..." Vortex Psychic (Atk: 2000) struggled against the energy ropes binding him, to no avail.

"That's right!" Ciel stood up, "Now let's end this!"

Majora leaped into the air, thrusting his arm into the air as a star formed in it. It started glowing brighter and brighter as purple-colored flames enveloped it, "Let this by our lesson to you! Reality will never conquer dreams! Majora, Wishing Star Bolt!" Majora reached his arm back and then threw it forward, the star flying out and down to Vortex Psychic, the flames trailing behind it, giving it the appearance of it's namesake. The star smashed into the psychic creature, obliterating it (Sasha: 0).

The crowd was dead silent, stunned by the turn of events before them. The silence hung in the air as the dust settled, and the holograms disappeared. Then, as one, loud cheers erupted. Sure, some may have simply been from relief, been honest excitement could be heard from the stands.

"Wow! He did it!" Roxy was hopping in excitement, "That was awesome! I'm glad the rumors were true! This kids is good!"

"I gotta admit, even I didn't think he was gonna get out of that!" Sephir said falling back into one of the arena seats, seemingly exhausted, "Man, I can't wait to duel that kid myself!" he said slamming his fist into the palm of his opposite hand.

"I'm gonna guess ya gonna be in in'a line for dat." Deval chuckled, "Startin' right behind me."

"I'm sure you'll all get your chance." Mia added, clapping her hands, "But for now, let's get down there and congratulate them, before the closing ceremony." she picked up her jacket and headed to the stairs.

"Right behind you Ms. Mia!" Sephir called back, "And I don't mind that one bit." he added, quickly walking away before Roxy could retort.

"See ya girls down der." Deval waved as he followed Sephir and Mia down the steps.

"Well, looks like we're gonna be seeing more of him, huh Luna?: Roxy asked turning to her friend. Luna smiled, turning to her and nodding as they headed to the steps.

"_I hope it's soon too."_

Sasha pushed himself off the floor, raising himself up and looking to Ciel. The boy walked up to him and offered his hand, "Excellent duel professor, you certainly lived up to everything I read about you." the professor nodded and accepted his hand, Ciel pulled him the rest of the way to his feet, then the professor gripped his hand and shook it.

"And you surpassed everything I heard about you. You proved yourself to be extraordinary well before this duel ended, but your victory solidifies your place among our ranks." he released his grip as he slid his hand into his pocket and removed his cigarette box, "And among our best. I can safely say that you are the best duelist I saw here today, and from what I remember of your exam grades, you are the best of this year's freshman class."

"I'm honored." Ciel bowed his head briefly then looked back at the professor, "I just hope that if we duel again, you use your real deck."

"After this, I know I'll need it." Sasha answered. He looked over Ciel's shoulder and saw Mia walking up, with a group of students trailing behind her. "Hello Mia, I hope you find this student just as exceptional as I."

"Probably more so!" Mia laughed, she extended her hand to Ciel, "Hello, I'm Mia an overseer for these exams, and let me be the second to congratulate you on your victory!" Ciel shook her hand thankfully, then looked to the students behind her, "Oh! Let me introduce you to some other new students, and I know them personally they're great kids." she looked over and presented the kids behind her, "This is Sephir Karlin." Ciel looked over the boy, he was wearing dark shades like Sasha, but his were in more of a sports style that Sasha's scholarly ones. He had white hair cut to a fade and a large grin plastered across his face.

"Hey there!" no handshake this time, he slapped Ciel on the back like he was a long-time friend, "I'm sure you'll see me around, I'll be the one with the large group of fangirls trailing behind. If I can ever get away I'll be looking to duel you real soon mystery kid."

Ciel was caught off-guard at first by the enthusiastic greeting but quickly regained his composure, "It's...nice to meet you, and if I could add something." he removed the boy's hand from his back, "No touching."

"Ya know, ya not de first to tell that to him." Ciel turned to see another boy, he was tall and muscular, long dreadlocks tied behind his head, only a few shades darker than his skin. He certainly seemed friendly, but Ciel also sensed a powerful confidence from him as well, "As for meh, don't worreh, I like mah personal space as well." he extended his hand, "Pleasure to meet yah, Deval Tomlin." Ciel shook his hand and then turned to the final two, these were girls, one he had never met, but the other was familiar.

"This is Roxy Bell, I actually took care of her when she was just a little girl." Mia explained, a giggle escaped her lips at her last comment. The girl had brown hair and green eyes, her hair was styled into a bob haircut. She smiled sheepishly at the overseer, "Yeah, Ms. Mia and I go awhile back." she simply waved at Ciel, "Nice to meet you, I saw you duel, you were amazing."

"Thank you." he bowed his head briefly in acknowledgment, he turned to the last girl and walked up to her, "You're the girl from the park..." the girl blushed and nodded, "Thank you for helping me earlier, in convincing Professor Sasha, you were really helpful. What's your name?"

"Luna...Luna Molyneux." Ciel smiled and took her hand, leaning down and kissing the top.

"I won't forget it." he turned to the others, their eyebrows raised in surprise, "I was nice to meet you all, I hope we shall meet again once the school year officially begins." with that he turned and walked to the gathering of students in the stands.

"Well, he's certainly gentlemanly." Roxy turned to Sephir, "You could learn a few things from him." Sephir simply grimaced.

"Okay guys, head to the stands, it's time to begin the closing ceremony." Mia made a shooing motion as she turned to the other overseers who were setting up equipment behind her. Sasha joined her and placed his duel disk on the desk while he began speaking with her.

"Well we should get going then, come on Luna." Roxy looked over to her friend, "Luna?" she noticed her friend was really still, her hand still dangling in the air, and a blush enveloped her face, "Ah, come on Luna! Snap out of it!"

"Anyone sitting here?" Ciel asked

"Not at all, feel free."

"Thank you." he sat down on the empty seat. He looked over to the boy, he had short, dark hair but long bangs, and was also quite pale, but he couldn't make out his eyes beneath the bangs. "My name is Ciel, pleasure to meet you."

"I would expect so." the boy answered. Ciel almost did a double-take, that certainly wasn't an expected answer. "Listen here, son of the Game Master." the boy said, his voice low and a little coarse, "I must admit, you worried me there for a moment, you almost had me think I was wrong." Ciel continued to listen, but he was officially confused, "I thought that you may have been like the rest of them, slime that decided to crawl out of the gutter and try to make something of itself." he looked up, his eyes still obscured by his bangs, "However, you certainly proved yourself just now. You are better than any other peon here, but more importantly..." he now looked at Ciel, his eyes were a brilliant yellow almost hypnotizing, but there was something behind them. Ciel couldn't figure it out then, but it unnerved him, "...You are worthy to be someone of interest to me. So allow me to introduce myself, Lyserg Leveque, but you will address me as..." he again looked to the field, Mia was taking the stage, "...Machina!"

"Hello students!" Mia's voice rang clear over the speaker system, "I want to congratulate all of you on you successful exams and dueling exams!" she smiled as a few cheer sounded from the stands, "And let me say that I am just as excited for the new year as all of you! But, I know you all ready to go home and prepare for your new home away from home." the anticipation built, Mia let it hang for a moment then pumped her fist in the air in excitement, "Let me be the first to welcome you! As the new class of Duel Academy Kingdom!"


End file.
